Improvement in japanning eyelets, buttons



STEPHEN N. SMITH PATENTED FEB141871 tutti@ /iuirt STEPHEN N. SMITH, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

Letters Patent No. 111,882. dated February v14, 1,871.

IMPROVEMENT IN 'JAPANNING-EYELETS, BUTTQNS, &c.

The' 'Schedule referred to in those Letters Patent and part of the saure.

To all '1v/ront it may concern Be it known 'that I, STEPHEN N. SMITH, of 1-"rovi-` dence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain Improvements 1in the Process of Japanniug Eyelets, Buttons, 85e., ofV

which the following .is a specification, reference being h ad to the accompanying drawing.

My-invention consists inA an improved process and apparatus for coating eyelets, buttons, and similar articles with varnish or Japan, as hereinafter more fully explained'.

Figure 1 is a 'perspective view of the apparatus, 1n use. l

Figure 2 is a side elevation ol' the main portion of the same.

In the manufacture of eyelets and some kinds of metal buttons, especially those intended for ruse on sh'oes, it is necessary to color them black, which is done by coating them' with a suitably-prepared varnish or japan. This material when applied is in a liquid form and more or less sticky or adhesive, and it is therefore difcult'by any hitherto known process to apply this coating to eyelets or buttons and similar small articles in such a manner as to coatvthem all over evenly, and not canse them to stick together` The usual method has been to dip or immerse a quantity of them inthe japan and then let it drain off; but in'so doing there js always a surplus of the japan left on the articles at the points where they touch each other, which prevents their being evenly coated, and this surplus of the coating shows on them afterward, thus rendering them defective in appearance.

To accomplish the desired objecty of coating them evenly and giving them a smooth and linished appearance, I provide a cylindrical vessel, A, of tin or other suitable material, having one end open, with its opposite end closed. v

This cylinder I mount on a shaft, I), attached rig# idly to its bottom at the center, and then secure the shaft-in suitable bearings, so as to cause tlie cylinder A to `stand at an angle of forty-tive degrees or less, ns ,represented in fig. 2, with its open end uppermost. 'Ihe lower end of this shaft D I then connect by a universal joint, as shown in figs. l and 2, to a hori zontal shaft, C, having a pulley, G, upon its opposite end for imparting motion to it. I have shown the shaft C mounted in a tubular bearing, F, supported by a standard, E; but it is obvious thatit may be mounted' in any suitable supports, and that instead of the universal j oiut lit may he connected to the shaft of the cylinder by bevel-gear, or in anyother suitable manner; or the shaft C may be dispensed with entirely, and pulley or geen-wheel be secured upon the shaft D of the cylinder for imparting a rotary motion to the latter. v

In using the apparatus a quantity of the eyelets, buttons, or other articles to be coated are placed loosely in the cylinder, which is then made to revolveslowly so asto cause the articles to tumble or roll overone another continuously within the cylinder.

The japan is placed in a bottle orother suitab1e vessel, whiclris held in the hand of the operator above .or over the open end of the cylinder, where it is squirted or showered gradually upon the tumblingV mass within. In this way the japan is applied gradually and evenly over the entire surface of all the ar-A ticles contained in the cylinder, their constantrubhing against each other preventing it from accumulating in uneven quantities or thickness upon any portion of them, and also preventing the articles from adheringvone to another. The process is coutinued until the articles are thoroughly and evenly coated, when they are removed from the cylinder,` which is made detachable for. that purpose; aiter which the japan is hardened or dried by heating the articles` in a furnace prepared for that purpose.

Having thus fully described my invention. What I claim is `l. The hereiudescribed process of coating or ja# panning eyelets, buttons, and similar articles, that is to say, byv sprinkling the liquid upon a mass of theY articles while the latter are kept in motion, tumbling or rolling over or against each other, substantially as set forth.

2. rIhe inclined 'rotating cylinder A, arranged to op- 

